Preliminary autopsy results of missing teen Corey Brown reveal the cause of death

On Wednesday morning, a preliminary autopsy report revealed that Corey Brown had died after falling from a communications tower. The tower, which is a mile from his home, is the same one that his body was found close too.

The missing Marshalltown teenager is believed to have climbed the tower before falling from it.

Preliminary autopsy results revealed that Corey Brown, 13, died from a head injury and blunt force trauma. According to Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper, the teenager’s injuries occurred after he climbed a communications tower and fell off of it.

The state medical examiner’s office had conducted the autopsy on Tuesday and the initial report was sent to the Marshalltown Police. Tupper said, “We don’t know why Corey was climbing the tower, what happened, how he fell off the tower.”

He shared, “All I know is that he was there and he fell. Nobody was there to talk to Corey so we obviously can’t know his frame of mind.” The teenager’s body was found on Sunday near the tower in the 900-1000 block of West Iowa Avenue in Marshalltown.

No criminal activity was suspected in the boy’s death. The boy, who went missing on January 22, likely died the night he left home according to the initial investigation and autopsy results.

Tupper stated that Brown’s injury was traumatic and not survivable. However, the police chief clarified that the results were only preliminary and the department still awaited toxicology results, which could take weeks.

He asked everyone to be “cautious in how they talk about this and try to stick to the facts.” The police chief added, “I realize that people are going to have questions, but the family has been through a lot.”

The medical examiner still had lab testing to do which could list the cause of death as accidental or undetermined. The police are still working on the case by watching videos and conducting interviews.

A day after he left, Brown’s parents, Michelle and Craig Brown, reported him missing in the morning when they woke up and realized he was not in his bedroom. The teenager had left the house at around 11 p.m. on the previous day according to security footage at the residence.

The boy didn’t have his cell phone when he left because his parents had confiscated it as a disciplinary measure. The community searched for the teenager and put up fliers and social media posts to try and spread the word.

His school and other community organizations promoted wearing green which was his favorite color. Last Thursday night, Brown’s parents and brother gave an emotional public statement with the hope that he might hear it and come home.

According to the Mitchell Family Funeral Home, a funeral mass will be held for Brown at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at St. Henry Catholic Church, 211 W. Olive St. On Friday, visitation will run from 4-7 p.m. followed by a vigil.

The teenager will be buried at Riverside Cemetery. Tupper pleaded, “We want to just continue to pray for Corey and the Brown family.”

The teenager left his home after having a “disciplinary discussion” with his parents. When the boy left at night it was in the middle of a blinding snowstorm with temperatures that were around 15 degrees.